Russel Crowe makes this movie work. He proves that he can play a regular guy as well as anyone. The story isn't anything terribly original. His wife gets thrown in prison, accused of murder, and he can't wait 20+ years for her to get out. So he does the prep work and study to find a way to break her out. I won't say whether or not he is successful, but it is a suspenseful ride. Lots of critics frowned on it because many of them felt it was too unbelievable and contrived. My argument to that is: Isn't every movie a little too unbelievable?
The point is, this movie did exactly what I wanted it to do. I expected suspense and some anxiety and that's what I got. Like I said before the movie is all Crowe...without him it would probably have been a complete flop. He makes you care and makes you feel worried about the plight of his family. There are only a handful of actors that can take a below average movie and turn it into a decent one (i.e. Tom Hanks, Daniel D. Lewis, Leonardo DeCaprio, Keanu Reaves....hahaha just kidding on that last one). I have given out a lot of B's lately and to mix things up I will give this one a B+. It is worth at least a rental and if not a matinee (in case you are tight on cash).
Interesting to know that it does contain some suspense, maybe I will see it after all.
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